Grumpy Bits And Pieces

"Peace" April 25, 2011

I used to follow a blog (which name I can't remember) that consisted of several short, pithy sentences posted during the day -- something akin to today's omnipresent 140-character tweets.  These are my "tweets" for today.  Obviously, I've yet to master the art of brevity.

I followed, probably along with you, the blanket coverage of the Japan disaster.  Maybe it was my selection of news channels to follow and online sources to read, but I didn't see/hear/read ONE WORD comparing the earthquake/tsunami to the destruction caused by the United States' use of The Bomb in 1945 -- even when radiation complicated the whole mess.  I think it would have provided an interesting and ironic parallel to the nonstop commentary, particularly the segments praising the Japanese people's "extraordinary resilience" and ability to recover quickly.  I have to wonder..... hmmm.... why was this not discussed?  Even weirder was NBC's fairly extensive coverage of the anniversary of the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo -- smack in the middle of the current misery in Japan. 

I've never been a big fan of a certain talk show host who happens to be winding down her 25-year reign in May, although I've admittedly watched her occasionally over some of those years, including this final season.  She's recapping her favorite shows with her favorite guests, favorite surprises, favorite topics -- and the most favorite person of all -- herself.  With that kind of longevity in a medium not known for an attention span longer than a commercial, she's obviously given her public what they've wanted for 25 years -- surely a remarkable feat.  I just find it so completely ironic when this celebrity, with a net worth well over a billion bucks, tells her audience how the quest for wealth is not important and can only lead to a personal spiritual vacuum. The irony grows when she praises "simple living" yet relishes feeding the greedy with her flamboyant giveaway shows.  I also find irony when she, who has never raised a child, gives parenting advice; when she, with no credentials in the field, provides psychological counseling; when her "spiritual journey" (flavor of the month) becomes something we should all follow to achieve "clarity and enlightenment".  I find it distasteful when she tells her look-alike, dress-alike, think-alike cloned audience that humility is desirable, yet stands in an Australian arena drinking up the crowd's adulation like a plant sucking up Miracle-Gro and sunshine.  And don't even get me started on her diet advice.  While she's exercised admirable (and publicized) philanthropy over the years...the nasty, mean side of me wonders...how much more could she have done and still live comfortably in her seven homes? 

I'm such a dyed-in-the-wool little peacenik that war, police actions, uprisings and skirmishes that lead to war just make no sense to me.  None.  Zero.  I may be able to understand defending one's country against an actual attack or credible threat, but anything less is simple proof of old-fashioned barbarism to me.  Sorry, Republican friends...I really don't get it.  Which means, I've never paid much attention to our involvement in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan, Libya -- or all the other places we've sent young men and women to die.  Nor have I followed other countries' similar actions.  Maybe someone can explain to me why Washington is threatening entitlement programs that are critical to the very life and health of various segments of our population yet ensuring our continued involvement in three military actions.  (And don't give me that BS about Libya not being our fight...of course it is, per our President.)

I've been trying for at least 125 hours to produce a "query" to submit to publishers and/or agents to sell my medieval-themed children's book.  The reason for the ridiculous amount of time spent?  The quirky format that "oh-so-busy" screeners require -- which varies from person to person, with no actual rules or conventions...AND...the need to condense a 41,000 word novel into a 250-word pithy, intriguing tease, similar to the brief blurb you find on the back cover of a book.  I've never in my life said, "I don't think I can write this..." but I'm coming to that point.  I may self-publish the damn thing.  At least I'd be certain that the screener (me) would be satisfied.  HA!

Yeah, I'm pretty grumpy today -- it's raining, and we really haven't had any true spring weather yet, although it's only a week away from May.  My roses are blooming like crazy, but they all think they've been moved to Seattle or, worse yet, back to Salinas.  Happy Easter anyway -- Alleluia!